Using Synthetic Tests

Note If you do not have the required software license, you will not be able to use synthetic tests.

Synthetic tests are tests that you configure to run periodically. They use voice applications as other devices (phones) normally would, and analyze the behavior of the system. Cisco Unified Operations Manager (Operations Manager) can monitor the information returned from the synthetic tests and generate events based on the results.

Getting Started with Synthetic Tests

Synthetic tests are used to measure the availability of voice applications. Synthetic tests verify whether the voice application can service requests from a user. For example, you can use synthetic tests to verify that phones can register with a Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Synthetic tests use synthetic phones to measure the availability of voice applications by emulating your actions. For example, a synthetic test places a call between clusters and then checks to see if the call is successful.

If a synthetic test fails, Operations Manager generates a critical event. Such events are displayed in the Alerts and Events display (see Monitoring Alerts and Events).

Operations Manager supports synthetic testing for the following applications:

Note If call progress tones and announcements are configured on the gateway for your end-to-end call, the test may succeed even before the phone rings or after a couple of rings. This indicates that your gateway is working correctly.

TFTP Download Test

Performs a TFTP get-file operation on the TFTP server.

Successful download of a configuration file from the TFTP server.

Emergency Call Test

Initiates a call to the emergency number to test the dynamic routing of emergency calls.

•All calls initiated

•Ring indication on Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and On Site Alert Number (OSAN), if configured.

Cisco Conference Connection Test

Creates a conference (meeting) in the Conference Center and connects to the meeting.

•Conference created with the specified meeting ID

•Call initiated

•First person and second person (if configured) successfully connect to the conference

Message-Waiting Indicator Test

Calls the target phone and leaves a voice message in the voice mailbox.

Activation of the phone's message-waiting indicator. The message is then deleted and the message-waiting indicator is deactivated.

Configuring Applications for Synthetic Tests

You can configure synthetic tests for each Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco voice application in your network. For each synthetic test, you must configure one or more phones in the related Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco voice application.

Caution Only Cisco 7960 IP Phones are supported for synthetic tests.

When configuring phones:

•Create one phone extension number and one MAC address for each test and use it for that test only.

•Make sure that the combination of the phone extension number and the MAC address used in a test is unique across the voice cluster.

Caution Failure to follow these recommendations may result in synthetic test failures.

Note If you do not have the required software license, you will not be able to use synthetic tests.

Note Do not create more than 100 end-to-end call tests that run at one-minute intervals. Configure additional end-to-end call tests to run at various intervals other than one minute.

You can also set up synthetic tests from the Service Level View (see Setting Up Synthetic Tests), as well as from the Launch tools menu that is located on the Detailed Device View and Alert Details page.

The following sections describe the steps for creating synthetic tests:

Step 4 From the group selector in the left pane, select the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system for which you want to set up the test.

Step 5 Click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field to enter the name or IP address of the selected device.

Step 6 Enter the synthetic phone's MAC address. If you used the group selector to choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system, the MAC address field is automatically populated.

Note The MAC address for synthetic phones must be between 00059a3b7700 and 00059a3b8aff and must be in the format 00059a3b7700.

Note The SIP URI should be in the format sip:extn@ccm; for example, sip:7690@ct-sd.cisco.com.

Step 9 Select a criteria for success, either Registration Success or Registration Failure.

Step 10 If desired, you can change the registration time threshold setting (default is 2000 milliseconds).

Note The phone registration threshold measures the time that it takes for a phone (SIP or SCCP phone) to register with a Cisco Unified Communications Manager. If the threshold is exceeded, a warning event is generated.

Step 11 In the Run pane configure when the test should run.

•If you want the test to run immediately, select the now radio button.

•If you want to schedule the test to run at certain intervals, do the following:

–Select the every radio button.

–Choose how often you want the test to run.

–Enter the times between which you want the test to run.

–Select the days on which the test should run.

–Enter a test name.

Step 12 Click Create.

Creating Dial-Tone Synthetic Tests

You can configure only one dial-tone test per Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Step 4 From the group selector in the left pane, select the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system for which you want to set up the test.

Step 5 Click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field to enter the name or IP address of the selected device.

Step 6 Enter the synthetic phone's MAC address. If you used the group selector to choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system, the MAC address field is automatically populated.

Note The MAC address for synthetic phones must be between 00059a3b7700 and 00059a3b8aff and must be in the format 00059a3b7700.

Step 7 If desired, you can change the dial-tone time threshold setting (default is 500 milliseconds).

Note The dial-tone time threshold measures the time between when an SCCP phone goes offhook to when it receives a dial tone from Cisco Unified Communications Manager. If the threshold is exceeded, a warning event is generated.

Step 8 In the Run pane configure when the test should run.

•If you want the test to run immediately, select the now radio button.

•If you want to schedule the test to run at certain intervals, do the following:

–Select the every radio button.

–Choose how often you want the test to run.

–Enter the times between which you want the test to run.

–Select the days on which the test should run.

–Enter a test name.

Step 9 Click Create.

Creating an End-to-End Call Synthetic Test

You have the option of configuring the target phone as a real phone or a synthetic phone. The default setting is a synthetic phone.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•Enter the synthetic phone's MAC address. If you used the group selector to choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system, the MAC address field is automatically populated.

Note The MAC address for synthetic phones must be between 00059a3b7700 and 00059a3b8aff and must be in the format 00059a3b7700.

Note The SIP URI should be in the format sip:extn@ccm; for example, sip:7690@ct-sd.cisco.com.

Step 5 In the Recipient pane, do the following:

•Select either the Synthetic Phone or Real Phone radio button.

•Enter the name or IP address of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•Enter the phone's MAC address.

•Select a protocol type (if you selected the Real Phone radio button, this option is grayed out).

•Select a parameter type (if you selected the Real Phone radio button, this option is grayed out): If you select Extension, enter the extension for the phone. If you select SIP URI, enter the URI.

Note The Parameters area is grayed out when Synthetic Phone is selected.

Step 6 In the Parameters pane, do the following:

•(Optional) Select Wait for Answer. If you selected the Synthetic Phone radio button, this option is grayed out.

•(Optional) Select Enable RTP transmission. If you selected the Synthetic Phone radio button, this option is grayed out.

•Choose a criterion for success, either Call Success or Call Failure.

•If desired, you can change the call setup time threshold setting (default is 10000 milliseconds).

Note The call setup time threshold measures the time between when you are done dialing the number to when the Cisco Unified Communications Manager sets up the call (using SIP or SCCP phones). If the threshold is exceeded, a warning event is generated.

Step 7 In the Run pane configure when the test should run.

•If you want the test to run immediately, select the now radio button.

•If you want to schedule the test to run at certain intervals, do the following:

–Select the every radio button.

–Choose how often you want the test to run.

–Enter the times between which you want the test to run.

–Select the days on which the test should run.

–Enter a test name.

Note Do not create more than 100 end-to-end call tests that run at 1-minute intervals. Configure any additional end-to-end call tests to run at various intervals greater than 1 minute.

Step 8 Click Create.

Creating a TFTP Download Synthetic Test

You can configure only one TFTP download test for each Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

b. The phone's MAC address. Use the format 00059a3b7700. If you used the group selector to choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the MAC address field is automatically populated.

Note The MAC address for synthetic phones must be between 00059a3b7700 and 00059a3b8aff and must be in the format 00059a3b7700. Operations Manager verifies only that the MAC address number entered in the Create Synthetic Test page is syntactically valid. It is your responsibility to make sure the correct numbers are entered, as configured in the Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Step 6 In the Second Caller pane, enter the following:

a. The name or IP address of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager where Cisco Conference Connection is configured.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

b. The phone's MAC address. Use the format 00059a3b7700.

Step 7 In the Run pane configure when the test should run.

•If you want the test to run immediately, select the now radio button.

•If you want to schedule the test to run at certain intervals, do the following:

•The name or IP address of the system where Cisco Emergency Responder is installed.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Emergency Responder field.

•Emergency phone number.

Step 5 In the Caller pane, enter the following:

•The name or IP address of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express for the caller's phone.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•The synthetic phone's MAC address. If you used the group selector to choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system, the MAC address field is automatically populated.

Note The MAC address for synthetic phones must be between 00059a3b7700 and 00059a3b8aff and must be in the format 00059a3b7700. Operations Manager verifies only that the MAC address number entered in the Create Synthetic Test page is syntactically valid. It is your responsibility to make sure the correct numbers are entered, as configured in the Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•The PSAP phone's MAC address.

Step 7 (Optional) If there is an On Site Alert Number (OSAN), select the On Site Alert Number check box, and enter the following in the OSAN pane:

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•The OSAN phone's MAC address.

Step 8 In the Run pane configure when the test should run.

•If you want the test to run immediately, select the now radio button.

•If you want to schedule the test to run at certain intervals, do the following:

Step 4 In the Unity Parameters pane, enter a Cisco Unity, Cisco Unity Express, or Cisco Unity Connection system for which you want to set up the test.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unity/Unity Express/Unity Connection field.

Step 5 In the Caller pane, enter the following:

•The name or IP address of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express for the caller's phone.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•The synthetic phone's MAC address. If you used the group selector to choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express system, the MAC address field is automatically populated.

Note The MAC address for synthetic phones must be between 00059a3b7700 and 00059a3b8aff and must be in the format 00059a3b7700. Operations Manager verifies only that the MAC address number entered in the Create Synthetic Test page is syntactically valid. It is your responsibility to make sure the correct numbers are entered, as configured in the Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Note You can use the group selector in the left pane to enter a device: Select the device in the group selector, and then click the arrow button next to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager/Express field.

•The phone's MAC address.

•The phone's extension number.

•The voice mail password.

Step 7 In the Run pane configure when the test should run.

•If you want the test to run immediately, select the now radio button.

•If you want to schedule the test to run at certain intervals, do the following:

–Select the every radio button.

–Choose how often you want the test to run.

–Enter the times between which you want the test to run.

–Select the days on which the test should run.

–Enter a test name.

Step 8 Click Create.

Tip After you perform a Cisco Unified Communications Manager version upgrade, Cisco Unity synthetic tests that use the Cisco Unified Communications Manager that you upgraded might stop working. If this problem occurs, you should delete the Cisco Unity synthetic test, and then add the synthetic test again.

Importing Synthetic Tests

You can import multiple synthetic tests at one time by using a comma separated values (CSV) file.

•Place the seed file on the server, in the NMSROOT\ImportFiles directory. If you do not have access to the directory, contact a local administrator for the server where Operations Manager is installed.

Note NMSROOT is the directory where Operations Manager is installed on your system. If you selected the default directory during installation, it is C:\Program Files\CSCOpx.

Each specifier can be a number, a range, comma separated numbers and a range, or an asterisk.

Month and days of the month fields cannot be changed. You should enter an asterisk (*).

Day of week can have an asterisk to represent all days, or it can have a comma separated list of days. For Hour, you can enter an asterisk to represent 24 hours, or you can enter a range. Minute can be an asterisk, to represent all, or it can be a range.

Only the following schedule types are supported:

•*;*;*;*;* —All days, 24 hours

•*;*;2-4;*;* —Tuesday to Thursday, 24 hours

•*;*;*;8-20;* —All days between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

•*;*;*;8;20-59:*;*;*;9-19;*:*;*;*;20;0-40 —All days between 8:20 a.m. and 8:40 p.m.

Exporting Synthetic Tests

You can export the synthetic tests that you have created to a file on your Operations Manager server. If needed, you can use this file to import your configured synthetic tests back into Operations Manager, or to import the tests into another Operations Manager system.

Starting and Stopping Synthetic Tests

Synthetic tests can be started or stopped. You can select multiple tests at one time to start or stop. If a test is running while you are trying to stop it, a message appears stating the test's details.

Step 4 In the Run area, enter or change the desired schedule information.

Step 5 Click Edit. Your changes will be saved.

Synthetic Test Notes

Table 9-10 contains information you should be aware of when working with synthetic tests.

Table 9-10 Synthetic Test Notes

Summary

Explanation

Synthetic tests do not run for 30 minutes after the Operations Manager processes are started. However, during this time, you can still create, edit, or delete tests.

Starting Operations Manager processes places a high load on the system. To prevent synthetic tests from failing during this time, Operations Manager delays starting them.

You can change the default setting by doing the following:

1. Add the following default settings in the AMAServer.properties file located in <NMSRoot>\etc\cwsi:

AMAMonitor.InitialDelay-30

2. Stop and restart the synthetic transaction server using the following commands:

pdterm STServer

pdexec STServer

3. Start the VHMSTIntegrator process using the pdexec VHMSTIntegrator command.

When the interval of a synthetic test is decreased from a high value to a low value, the first results for the new value may take longer than the new interval to report.

Each synthetic test executes at a time that is controlled by its interval setting. Immediately after you decrease the interval setting for a synthetic test, that transaction might not execute again until a total elapsed time that is longer than the new interval. For example, if you decrease an interval from 180 seconds to 60 seconds, the first results for the new interval may take as long as 240 seconds to report.

One-time synthetic test failures sometimes occur.

Occasionally, one-time synthetic test failures occur. Such failures can be due to high loads on the Operations Manager system or other factors that cause Operations Manager to be unable to receive some events from applications.

Multiple conferences with the same meeting ID are created and are not deleted, slowing the performance of Cisco Conference Connection database operations.

When synthetic tests for Cisco Conference Connection (CCC) fail, the conferences they create might not be deleted from the CCC Past Conferences database.

If a synthetic test fails after a conference is created but before it is stopped and deleted, the next occurrence of the test results in the termination of the conference, but the conference is not deleted.

You should periodically delete any old conferences used for synthetic testing. Delete the old conferences through the CCC user interface.

Cisco Unity Message-waiting indicator synthetic tests may fail.

If a Cisco Unity synthetic test fails and the Message-Waiting Indicator light is on, you must configure a real phone with the same extension number used in the test and delete the voice mails manually. Alternatively, you can use the Message Store Manager tool to remove the voice mails. Once this is completed, the test will pass.